Retailing starts for certified pasture-fed beef

A small cattle producer in southern Queensland is the first person to retail pasture-fed beef in Australia certified under the new Pasturefed Certification Assurance System (PCAS).

Leaone Munn turns off Brangus calves from 150 breeders on her 700-acre property at Booyal, between Childers and Gin Gin, and sends the meat to a small processor in Biggenden.

She sold 40 packs of top-grade grassfed beef - which is hormone and antibiotic free, high in omega and lower in fat - on the weekend at a friend's boutique seafood store in Brisbane.

It's been a fast ride since Mrs Munn was first inspired by English billionaire Richard Branson, but she's cautiously optimistic about the path ahead.

"We have had so much response. Some we just won't be able to supply because it was way too big, but in the future, you never know. We are just going to start from there and maybe look into the smaller boutiquey places."

Export processor Teys Brothers has been paying premiums for PCAS-certified cattle for a month, but hasn't yet had large enough volumes to enter the market.